As readers of our blog know well, Zunar is currently prohibited from leaving Malaysia. A long time critic of Prime Minister Najib Razak, Zunar will formally challenge the legality of the state’s sedition act in January. If successful he will avoid a further trial for nine counts of sedition and a possible prison sentence of over forty years. Unable to travel elsewhere but determined to continue his cartooning career, speaking truth to power and facing a hostile regime, regrettable incidents like this one become more likely.

Last night the British Cartoonists’ Association and the Cartoon Museum held their annual awards and fundraising dinner at the Mall Galleries in Central London. BCA chairman Martin Rowson is a long-time supporter of Musa Kart, political cartoonist for Turkey’s Cumhuriyet newspaper and one of several members of staff entering their fourth week of jail time in Silivri prison, Istanbul, awaiting trial for alleged collusion with the organisers of last summer’s attempted coup.

After paying tribute to the cartoonists murdered in in the offices of Charlie Hebdo magazine in January 2015, Rowson told the audience of assembled cartoonists, politicians, journalists and cartoon fans about the plight of both Kart and Zunar, the Malaysian cartoonist currently facing trial for sedition.

He then invited everyone to make a standing ovation for Musa Kart as an act of solidarity and support for the twin freedoms of speech and laughter.

The audience included Britain’s top cartoonists, senior journalists from The Times, Daily Mail, Daily Telegraph and Private Eye, Britain’s leading satirical magazine, as well as the much-loved veteran comedian Barry Cryer, former Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, former London Mayor Ken Livingstone, multiple Oscar winning animator Richard Williams (the animator of Who Framed Roger Rabbit? who received the Lifetime Achievement Award later in the evening) and former Cabinet Minister Lord Kenneth Baker, who is also vice-chairman of London’s Cartoon Museum and a fan and collector of political cartoons.

We thank Martin Rowson for keeping Musa Kart and Zunar in mind during these ceremonies.

Following the detention of staff from Turkey’s Cumhuriyet earlier this week the paper is reporting that nine individuals, including editor-in-chief Murat Sabuncu and political cartoonist Musa Kart, have appeared in court.

The Associated Press’ reporting of this latest development is being carried by various news sites, such as Dawn and Salon.

The ruling formalises their arrest, meaning they will be jailed pending a trial. The exact nature of the charges is not yet clear but it is worth noting that these arrests come amid a widespread crackdown in Turkey against alleged enemies of President Recep Erdoğan, pro-Kurdish organisations and opposition politicians in particular. Erdoğan has made public promises to bring back the death penalty for those found guilty of treason.

Leading press freedom organisations including IFEX, CPJ and PEN International have made a joint declaration on the Cumhuriyet situation and this week’s events in Turkey. CRNI endorses it wholeheartedly.

Musa Kart is an internationally renowned cartoonist and this arrest is merely the latest in a series of grievous impositions placed upon him by the Erdoğan regime. In 2005 he was the recipient of our Courage in Editorial Cartooning Award when he was first sued for ‘libel’. In 2014 cartoonists everywhere used the hashtag #caricatureerdogan to show their support when he again stood trial for ‘slander’ over a cartoon in Cumhuriyet (below). His peers are once more drawing in solidarity with Musa, as can be seen at the Cartooning For Peace and Cartoon Movement sites.

Reports from Turkey dated 31st October 2016 indicate that several members of staff from the opposition newspaper Cumhuriyet have been detained by police following raids on their homes. These include cartoonist Musa Kart, the recipient of our Courage in Editorial Cartooning Award in 2005 and no stranger to harassment from the regime of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. According to The Guardian, some sixteen warrants have been issued and the charges pertain to the attempted coup in Turkey last summer.

This interview carried at the Turkish language 34volt website was recorded Monday. In it Musa states that his home was searched by police at 05:00 and that he was on his way to be questioned.

“This is a comedy. You cannot scare anyone with this sort of oppression. No person with a conscience can accept this picture. You cannot explain this to the world. I am being taken into custody just because I draw cartoons, exclusively because of cartoons. I think everyone will be able to put this in perspective. I’m not going to surrender… I have nothing to hide, no reason to run away… Everything I write and draw is out in the open.” – Musa Kart

This marks a new chapter in Musa’s ongoing persecution by the Turkish state. It is worth noting that despite his declaration of magnanimity after the failed coup, President Erdoğan remains a serial offender when it comes to transgressing the freedom of expression and human rights of cartoonists, journalists and opposition voices of all kinds. Bloomberg reports the arrests at Cumhuriyet are merely part of yet another crack-down that has seen tens of thousands of public sector workers fired, mayors of Kurdish-majority cities arrested and promises made of a return to the death penalty for those found guilty of treason.

The Turkish government has embarked upon a “purge without limits” according to Christophe Deloire, secretary-general of Reporters Without Borders and Amnesty International’s Europe Director John Dalhuisen called it “the latest wave in a post-coup purge which has turned Turkey’s once vibrant media landscape into a wasteland.”

CRNI condemns this disgraceful treatment of a globally respected cartoonist and demands his swift release.

UPDATE: In the week since these arrests, Cumhuriyet paper has ran with blank spaces where the contributions from their missing staff would appear. Under the emergency powers in effect in Turkey, police detainees may receive no visitors for as long as five days. The paper reports that lawyers were permitted to meet with whose in custody yesterday evening (3rd November). We await with interest further information on the well being of and prospects for Musa Kart and his colleagues. Committee to Protect Journalists has a summary of the week’s events in Turkey including restrictions to social media in addition to the crackdown on press and opposition politicians.

Zunar Tweets from Kuala Lumpur international Airport as he is prevented from leaving Malaysia – Oct 17th 2016

As widely reported following an update on his Twitter feed, CRNI’s 2011 Courage in Editorial Cartooning Award winner Zulkiflee Anwar Haque – Zunar – was prevented from leaving Malaysia via Kuala Lumpur International Airport on Monday October 17th. He had intended to travel to Singapore to attend a forum.

Zunar went on to state that an immigration officer informed him of a travel ban, apparently in place since the 24th of June and instructed by the Royal Malaysian Police’s Inspector-General, Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar.

As readers of our site will know, Zunar is contesting charges of sedition by the Malaysian government. He has endured more than a decade of harassment from officials with his office raided by the police on multiple occasions, his publications confiscated and website disrupted. This amounts to a war of attrition against him as time, resources and energy are consumed by a long and convoluted court case at one end and his livelihood is curtailed at the other.

The travel ban comes after Zunar, along with Gado of Kenya, received the Cartooning For Peace award last May and his exhibition in Geneva was described as an act of “economic sabotage” by the Malaysian Minister for Communications and possible grounds for police action by the Deputy Prime Minister.

Zunar cartoon dated Oct 18th 2016, reacting to his travel ban.

Free Malaysia Today reports that Zunar will contest the ban, saying: “I will file a suit to challenge the travel ban as [the Inspector-General] has no right to stop me from leaving the country. Only the court does.” The Malaysian Mail is carrying a response from IGP Khalid as well as Lawyers for Liberty whose spokesperson quotes the Malaysian constitution, saying “The travel ban on Zunar is a serious infringement on his civil liberties under Article 5, right to life and Article 8, equality.”

Zunar is a well respected and internationally acclaimed cartoonist frequently invited to attend festivals, symposia and conferences around the world. His freedom of movement is not only essential to his artistic and journalistic practice but also a fundamental human right. This latest episode marks a new low in the disgraceful treatment meted out to Zunar by the government and police in Malaysia.

“We were worried about this for some time. The authorities must lift this illegal infringement upon Zunar’s rights.” – CRNI Executive Director Dr Robert Russell

Zunar’s written statement on the incident reads as follows:

Today (17 Oct 2016 at 2pm), inbound to Singapore for a forum, I was stopped by the immigration officer at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport.

I was told by the officer that the instruction came from the police for them to stop me from traveling. Upon checking further, another immigration officer who wanted to remain anonymous had confirmed that the instruction came directly from the Inspector General Of Police (IGP) Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar himself, taking effect on 24th June 2016.

The IGP and The Director of Immigration have no right to stop or control my movement and barring me from leaving the country. Only the court does, and even then can only be carried out under specific laws.

Even though I am facing nine charges under the Sedition Act, I am still not convicted since my case shall only start on the 22nd of November this year. This clearly shows gross abuse of power and blatant violation of human rights by these individuals.

The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights of the Article 12 clearly states that everyone shall be free to leave any country, including his own. The declaration outlines further that the above-mentioned rights shall not be subjected to any restrictions, except those which are provided by law, are necessary to protect national security, public order, public health or morals or the rights and freedoms of others, and are consistent with the other rights recognized in the present Covenant.

This is yet another form of long list harassment to stop me from drawing cartoons to criticize the government of Malaysia.

Last year the government slapped me with nine charges under Sedition Act with possibility of 43 years jail punishment if found guilty over the comments in my tweet. Before that, I was locked behind bars twice – first was on 24th September 2010 for two days and then on 10th of February 2015 for three days. Five of my cartoon books are banned and my office in Kuala Lumpur was raided a few times with thousands of my cartoon books confiscated.

The printers and bookstores around the country which carry my cartoon works have also been raided and warned not to print or sell my books in the future or their whole business licence will be revoked.. October 2014, three of my assistants were arrested for selling my cartoon books. The webmaster, who managed his website and online bookstore, was called in by the police for interrogating

I will file a legal challenge to remove the ban. Talent is not a gift, talent is a responsibility.
They can ban my books, they can ban my cartoon, they can ban me from traveling, but they cannot ban my mind, I will keep drawing until the last drop of my ink.

Eaten Fish is a cartoonist and a refugee from Iran who sought refuge in Australia. This landed him in one of Australia’s notorious detention centers. He’s languished there for more than three years during which he’s suffered all manner of abuse. He’s in bad shape and needs medical attention.

Help us ratchet up the pressure on the Australian Government to immediately remove Eaten Fish from the Manus Island detention center and bring him to Australia for the specialized treatment he requires.

Send email and tweets to Prime Minister Turnbull and Peter Dutton, Minister of Immigration. If you’re in the US send your thoughts to Australia’s Ambassador to the U.S., Joe Hockey. If you live somewhere else consider sending something to the Australian Ambassador near you.

Let them know the abuses on Manus Island and the other offshore detention centers need to end and Eaten Fish needs to be released and given the attention and care he needs.